Michael Myers, Leatherface, Freddy, Jason: these are a few of the iconic names in horror. Each has had numerous films made with their violent exploits as a centerpiece and they’ve all been subjected to re-imaginings for a newer generation. The true fans, however, will always be the ones who love those characters from their original films. In recent years, thanks in large part to those remakes, people have begun to look back at the legacy and cultural significance of these characters.

One of the best examples is the epic four-hour documentary, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, which was released in 2010 and detailed every single movie in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The film is almost staggeringly comprehensive and a must-see for Freddy fans. Now the makers of that film, director Daniel Farrands and producer Thommy Hutson, are going to tackle Jason in a similar manner.

Last week in Los Angeles, they began filming Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th, based on the book of the same name by Peter M. Bracke. Read the full details after the jump.

Thanks to Shock Till You Drop for this press release. It’s filled with all the details you crave:

Panic Productions and Hutson Ranch Media [announced] that the documentary Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th officially began lensing on April 24, 2012 in Los Angeles, New York, Connecticut and Vancouver. Inspired by author Peter M. Bracke’s bestselling book, this thrilling retrospective promises to be the definitive look at the making of the iconic horror franchise.

From its inception in 1980, the Friday the 13th film series has proven to be as unstoppable at the box office as its hockey-masked, machete-wielding villain Jason Voorhees, who has terrorized the fictional town of Crystal Lake for more than 30 years. Since then, Friday the 13thhas become a true multimedia juggernaut, having spawned twelve feature films, a syndicated television drama and an extensive line of merchandise and collectibles. What’s more, revenue figures are as staggering as they are relentless: over 95 million tickets sold and nearly $600 million in domestic box office receipts alone.

Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th promises to give horror fans a unique insider’s look into the iconic horror series, featuring over 100 interviews with cast and crew spanning all twelve films and the television series, many of whom have never before publicly discussed their involvement in the long-running franchise. The documentary is written and directed by Daniel Farrands and produced by Thommy Hutson, who previously combined forces on the most acclaimed horror franchise documentary ever made, 2010’s Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, an epic four-hour journey that chronicled the making of director Wes Craven’s seminal 1984 shocker and its seven sequels. Independently produced, financed and released by Farrands and Hutson, Never Sleep Again won The Academy of Science Fiction and Horror’s prestigious Saturn Award in 2010 for “Best DVD Release” as well as two Home Media Magazine Reaper Awards for “Best Direct-to-Video Release” and “Best of Show.”

“Never Sleep Again is widely-regarded as the definitive retrospective on Freddy Krueger and the eight Nightmare on Elm Street films, so we thought it only fitting that Jason, who has appeared in twelve films, be given his due,” says writer/director Daniel Farrands, who previously served as editor and co-publisher of the groundbreaking book which inspired the new documentary and produced Paramount Home Entertainment’s Deluxe Edition DVD releases of the Friday the 13th films. A veteran of the horror genre, Farrands wrote the screenplay for Dimension Films’ Halloween 6 and produced Lionsgate’s hit supernatural thriller, The Haunting in Connecticut, which grossed $80 million at the box office worldwide. “I literally grew up on the Friday the 13th films,” says Farrands. “And in a very real way the series is responsible for my career in the film industry. It is truly an honor to chronicle the history of the series in a comprehensive documentary that I hope will serve as a worthy companion piece to the films and satisfy the series’ loyal fans.”

Producer Thommy Hutson who, in addition to Never Sleep Again, also wrote and produced definitive documentaries on Scream and The Return of the Living Dead, agrees. “After exploring the success and making of nightmares, ghost-faced killers and wise-cracking zombies, the time felt right to document the rise of one of the most well-known, feared and loved villains of our generation,” he says. “I am thrilled to be part of a project that will undoubtedly be the definitive story of not just Jason Voorhees, but the film franchise that created him. It’s a campfire tale long overdue.”

Upon its original release as a collectible hardcover edition in October 2005, Crystal Lake Memories was instantly hailed as one of the most lavish, comprehensive and meticulously researched books ever created about a film series. Author Peter M. Bracke crafted a narrative as full of shocks and surprises as the films themselves, painting a graphically compelling picture of one of horror’s most enduring franchises. In April 2012, an all-new and fully expanded eBook edition of Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of ‘Friday the 13th’ was released to the iBooks, Kindle and Nook platforms. “As a life-long fan of Friday the 13th, it was a dream come true to document the series with the original hardcover and electronic versions of Crystal Lake Memories,” says Bracke. “So I am absolutely thrilled that the team behind Never Sleep Again has decided to tackle all things Jason and Friday the 13th. It is simply an amazing honor to be a part of this ‘visual companion piece’ to Crystal Lake Memories, and I can’t wait to see it!”

The documentary Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th is slated for a late 2012 release